Does Charlottesville, VA have good solar incentives?

2026 Update: The 30% residential federal solar tax credit (Section 25D) ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025, as part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” The Charlottesville city credit, SRECs, and net metering described below are all still available. For everything that still lowers the cost of solar in Virginia, see our guide to Virginia solar incentives, or read what changed federally.

If you’re seeing solar panels go up in your neighborhood, you might be wondering– Is Charlottesville a good place to install solar? We’re a local Charlottesville solar company, so we certainly think so, but below you’ll see some of the special incentives, tools, and solar potential that makes Charlottesville a great city for solar. For programs available across the state, see our guide to Virginia solar incentives.

Charlottesville City Solar Tax Credit

Cville wants you to go solar! If your home is located in the City of Charlottesville, your solar installation is eligible for an additional tax credit of almost 5%. This credit applies for five years, and reduces the property taxes you would pay. With the current tax rate of 0.96%, the solar tax credit on a $30,000 project would be $30,000 x 0.96% = $288 per year, or $1,440 over five years.

For homeowners interested in solar, this is a great incentive just for cville locals.

How sunny is Charlottesville, VA?

Ok, it’s not as sunny as Tampa, FL, but Charlottesville’s mild weather makes it great for solar! Charlottesville has an annual solar radiation of 4.93kWh / m2 / day , which is 22% more than the green city of Portland, OR and 5% less than Boulder, CO.

To encourage Charlottesville locals to go solar the City also released a Rooftop Potential tool, which allows you to view your rooftop and get an idea of how much solar potential is available! While it’s not as precise as our free solar quote, it’s a great starting point to seeing if your property is right for solar.

Federal tax credit

The 30% residential federal tax credit (Section 25D) ended on December 31, 2025 and is no longer available to homeowners who purchase a system. If you installed before that date, you can still claim it on your 2025 return.

The 30% commercial credit (Section 48E) remains available to businesses through at least 2027. Homeowners can still capture that value indirectly through $0-down financing, where the company that owns the system claims the commercial credit and prices it into your monthly payment.

SRECs

SRECs (Solar Renewable Energy Credits) are essentially carbon-credits, which can be sold automatically, generating 20 – 30% additional value from your solar!

Is it easy to go solar in Charlottesville?

We’ve been installing in the Charlottesville area since 2015, and are lucky to have a city and utility company that are easy to work with. While some cities have difficult paperwork and unnecessary roadblocks, we have streamlined the paperwork process so going solar is as easy as can be.

Charlottesville has a simple application process, and Dominion offers net-metering to customers, which help get the most value out of your solar system.